The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is a 2013 New Zealand-American fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. It is the second in a three-part film adaptation based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, preceded by The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and followed by The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies; ''together they serve as a prequel to Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The film was produced by WingNut Films, New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was released on December 12, 2013 in New Zealand and December 13, 2013 in the United States. Plot Following the events of the previous film, Thorin and company are being pursued by Azog and his Orc party. Gandalf ushers them to the nearby home of a skin-changer named Beorn, who can take the form of a bear. That night, Azog is summoned to Dol Guldur by the Necromancer, who commands him to marshal his forces of war, bringing Azog to delegate his son Bolg to the hunt for Thorin. The following day, Beorn escorts the company to the borders of Mirkwood, where Gandalf discovers Black Speech imprinted on an old ruin, followed by a telepathic message from Galadriel urging him to investigate the tombs of the Nazgul. After telling the company to remain on the path, he leaves them. The company enter the forest but soon become lost and are then captured and entangled by giant spiders. Using his recently required ring, Bilbo uses invisibility and stealth to free the Dwarves. He subsequently drops the Ring, but only after brutally killing a creature to retrieve it does he begin to understand its dark influence. A company of Wood-Elves led by Legolas and Tauriel arrive and kill the remaining spiders and capture the Dwarves. Thorin is brought before their king Thranduil, whom he confronts for his negligence of the Dwarves when Smaug attacked Erebor sixty years earlier; he is then imprisoned with the rest of the company. During this time, Kili and Tauriel get into a conversation and begin to form a bond of sorts. Having escaped capture, Bilbo sneaks in and arranges an escape using wine barrels that are sent downstream. They are pursued by the Wood-Elves and run into Bolg and his Orc party, leading to a running three-way battle down the river in which Kili is shot by a and wounded by a Morgul shaft. The Dwarves manage escape both pursuing parties. Thranduil seals off his kingdom when an Orc captive, Narzug, reveals an evil entity has returned and is amassing an army in the south. Tauriel decides to leave and assist the Dwarves, with Legolas following her. Meanwhile, Gandalf, along with Radagast, investigate the tombs of the Nazgul, only to find it empty. The company meet a bargeman named Bard, who smuggles them into Esgaroth. Thorin promises the Master and the people of Laketown a share of the mountain's treasure. It is then revealed that Bard is a descendant of the last ruler of Dale, and possesses the last black arrow capable of killing Smaug. Because of his wound, Kili is forced to stay behind, along with Fili, Oin, and Bofur, as the remaining company receive a grand farewell upon departing for the Mountain. Meanwhile, Gandalf travels south to the ruins of Dol Guldur, while Radagast leaves to warn Galadriel of their discovery at the tombs of the Nasgul. Gandalf finds the ruins infested with Orcs and is ambushed by Azog. He is then overpowered and defeated by the Necromancer, who reveals himself as Sauron. Thorin and his remaining company reach the Lonely Mountain, where Bilbo discovers the hidden entrance. He is sent to retrieve the Arkenstone, and accidentally awakens Smaug while doing so. While trying to find Bilbo, Smaug reveals his knowledge of Sauron's return. Back in Laketown, Bard attempts to bring the black arrow to the town's launcher, as he fears what may happen when the Dwarves enter the Mountain. However, he is arrested for supposedly sparking an uprising against the Master and leaves his son to hide the arrow. Bolg and his Orc party infiltrate the town and attack the four Dwarves and Bard's children, but are quickly dispatched by Tauriel and Legolas, and the former begins to heal Kili (the Orc captive from earlier informed her that the Morgul shaft shot into his leg was barbed with poison), while Legolas leaves in pursuit of Bolg. Kili begins to recover and openly admires Tauriel's beauty, wondering if she ever loved him. Meanwhile, Gandalf watches helplessly as Azog and an Orc army march from Dol Guldur towards the Lonely Mountain. Back inside the mountain, Bilbo and the Dwarves engage Smaug in a long battle that leads to tricking the dragon into rekindling the mountain's forge with his fire, creating a large golden statue. It quickly melts and engulfs Smaug in hopes of burying him alive. The plan seemingly works until Smaug bursts out and stumbles out of the mountain before flying off to destroy Laketown. Bilbo watches on in horror at what they have unleashed. Cast * Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins * Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey * Richard Armitage as Throin Oakenshield II * Ken Stott as Balin * Graham McTavish as Dwalin * Aidan Turner as Kili * Dean O'Gorman as Fili * Mark Hadlow as Dori * Jed Brophy as Nori * Adam Brown as Ori * John Gallen as Oin * Peter Hambleton as Gloin * William Kircher as Bifur * James Nesbitt as Bofur * Stephen Hunter as Bombur * Benedict Cumberbatch as Smaug and the Necromancer * Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel * Orlando Bloom as Legolas Greenleaf * Lee Pace as Thranduil * Luke Evans as Bard the Bowman * Stephen Fry as the Master of Laketown * Cate Blanchett as Galadriel * Mikael Persbrandt as Beorn * Sylvester McCoy as Radagast the Brown * Manu Bennett as Azog the Defilir * Lawrence Makoare as Bolg * Craig Hall as Galion * Ryan Gage as Alfrid Lickspittle * John Bell as Bain * Peggy and Mary Nesbitt as Tilda and Sigrid * Ben Mitchell as Narzug * Antony Sher as Thrain (extended cut only) Category:Films Category:WingNut Films films Category:New Line Cinema films Category:Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Adventure films Category:Fantasy films Category:Action films Category:Live-action films Category:PG 13-rated films Category:Films based on Books Category:Films based on British novels Category:Prequels Category:Sequels Category:Films Split Into Multiple Parts Category:2010s films Category:2013 films